


The Couple that Wasn't

by Taupefox59



Series: Flash Bang #1 - Bingo (Team Green) [9]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: BAMF Magnus Bane, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gen, High Warlock Magnus Bane, Humor, Lightwood Siblings, Lightwood Siblings Feels, M/M, Marriage Counseling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 17:57:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14431053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taupefox59/pseuds/Taupefox59
Summary: When reports come in about mysterious happenings at a clinic, Alec and Isabelle go undercover to investigate.The only problem?It's a clinic for marriage counselling...For bingo square #10 "Fake Relationship"





	The Couple that Wasn't

**Author's Note:**

> A shout-out to all the lovely lemons who held my hands when I was angsting about this one. There were many of you. <3
> 
> Thanks to the fantastic [ shadowhuntersloverforever ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowhuntersloverforever)for the beta-read as well.
> 
> Any mistakes left are my own. Con/Crit always welcome.

Alec stared at the business card in his hand, and then glanced up at Izzy. “Why does this have to be the best way to do this.”

Isabelle shrugged, “We need more information.”

Alec rolled his eyes. They did need more information, but that did not mean he was excited about going undercover. They had both been trying to come up with an alternative for days, and they couldn’t think of anything that would work nearly as well.“I hate this idea.” He said, once more, just to be entirely clear with his feelings on the matter.

Isabelle gave him an unimpressed look. “It’s not like it’s my idea of a good time either, big brother.”

Alec huffed, and rolled his shoulders. “Fine. I’ll set up the appointment.”

 

It wasn’t anyone’s first choice, but the reports about Futures & Family Clinic had been rolling in steadily over the past few weeks. There seemed to be no obvious pattern, but there were reports of people having lapses of memory and missing time. Sometimes, they would only be missing for a few hours, usually a day or two. The most recent report had been nearly a week though, and it definitely wasn’t something that the Institute could ignore.

They had to go check it out. The only problem being that Futures and Family Clinic catered to a very specific type of clientele; namely, married couples.

Jace and Clary were in Idris, so really, Alec and Isabelle had no other choice. Alec wasn’t willing to send in another team with so little information, and Isabelle wasn’t about to let him take anyone other than herself for back up.

Alec turned to Isabelle and squinted at her. “No matter what happens, we  _ never _ tell Jace.”

Isabelle could only laugh. “Okay, big brother. Whatever you say.”

Alec grumbled, but nodded, pocketing the business card for later when he would have to call and set up an appointment. For him. And his  _ sister _ . Posing as a married couple. Alec shuddered. It was his worst nightmare on so many levels.

  
  


They had to wait two days until their appointment, but Alec figured that was fine. It gave him time to prepare himself. (He might have just been procrastinating, but he would never tell anyone that.)

Finally the day of the appointment arrived, and Alec and Isabelle found themselves getting ready together in Izzy’s room. Isabelle was getting ready, at least. Alec was sitting on her bed glowering and pretending to read. He hated missions where he couldn’t be glamoured. The last thing he wanted to do was have to wander around looking like a  _ mundane _ .  He was though. They were being subtle for this one.

Alec was in dark jeans and a dark green sweater, because Isabelle had pointed out that they couldn’t exactly walk around in their tactical gear without looking extremely noticeable and raising suspicion.Isabelle was wearing a tight blue shirt that shimmered in the light and light black skirt that floated above her knees. She put the finishing touches on her make-up and then turned to her brother. 

“It’s not that bad, Alec.”

He glared at her. “I really think it is.”

“It could be Clary.” Isabelle pointed out with a laugh.

Alec made a face like he’d just bitten into an unripened lemon. “Don’t even joke about it.”

Izzy giggled at him and poked him in the side. “It won’t be that bad. I promise.”

Alec gave her a half-hearted glare. “I don’t know if you remember, but I don’t generally have a great track record when it comes to being married.”

“I’m pretty sure your non-wedding got you your boyfriend, so I would say your record isn’t that bad.”

At that, Alec got the look on his face that he always seemed to have when his thoughts strayed to Magnus. Isabelle always thought it was a bit like he’d been slapped in the face with a fish, but she would never tell anyone that. Except maybe Mangus. And Clary. And Maia. And Simon. But it had only been that one night, and they had all been a little bit drunk at the time. Isabelle was sure it was possible that the memories of her saying that were at least a bit fuzzy. Probably. Hopefully. Maybe a little.

For all her teasing though, truly she had never dared to hope to see her brother so happy. After so many years of seeing him stress out and shut down, being able to finally see him at ease with himself was something she had been starting to fear she would never see.

Alec set down the tablet he hadn’t been reading and looked at Isabelle with a soft smile and genuine happiness written all over his features. “I  _ really _ like him, Iz.”

Isabelle could only smile back. “I know you do. I’m so happy for you, Alec.”

He smiled back at her for a moment, and then turned back to the tablet. “Are you ready to go?”

Isabelle checked her lipstick in the mirror one more time and then turned away. “Yes. I think the real question is ‘are  _ you _ ready’?”

Alec sighed. “Let’s just go so we can be done with this already.”

Isabelle bit back a laugh. “Come on, brother. Let’s go be married.”

Alec pointed a finger at her. “You are having way too much fun with this.”

Isabelle knew she probably was, but she wasn’t going to admit that to anyone.

  
  
  


The clinic was unassuming; it looked like a thirty-year-old office building that had once dreamed of being a home for the dot-com boom, but had since been relegated to whatever businesses managed to afford rent.

The entryway was glass and dark-finish metal. They walked through into a vestibule that was completely unassuming in the way of mid-rate hotel rooms. The place was painted a neutral beige, with giant plastic plants in huge ceramic vases set at regular intervals along the walls.

The person behind the desk looked up from their computer and smiled wide. “Hello, how can I help you?”

“We have an appointment.” Alec said, glancing down, and reading their name-tag, “Shelly.”

“An appointment! Perfect. Can I get a name please?”

“Lightwood.”

“Lightwood!” Shelly said, brightly, “I have you right here. May I also just say, you two make a  _ lovely _ couple!”

Alec gave a thin smile. “Thank you.”

His voice was so flat it was all Isabelle could do to not burst out laughing. He glared at her and she just smiled back. She turned to Shelly. “Thank you. We’re so  _ happy _ to be  _ married. _ ”

“Exactly.” Alec said, looking like he’d just bit his tongue. “So happy to be married.”

Shelly seemed unfazed by their antics, picking up the phone. “Miss LeBrown? You’re seven o’clock is here.” There was a brief pause before Shelly put the phone down, and turned back to them. “You’re appointment will be in room 139, just down the hall and on the left.”

Isabelle and Alec both thanked her for the information before they started down the hallway. They reached room 139, and the door was already ajar, as if waiting for them. The siblings exchanged another glance before opening the door fully and walking through.

 

There was a woman sitting in a overstuffed chair made of deep green leather. She was wearing a smart tan suit that emphasized the warmth in her brown skin. Her dreadlocks were a dark purple, and her smile seemed honest and friendly. She stood when they entered and held out a hand for them to shake “You’re the Lightwoods, I assume?”

“That’s us.” Isabelle said, with a nod, taking the offered hand.

“Call me Kristen, please.” she said, shaking Alec’s hand as well, before she moved back towards her chair. “Please have a seat.” She gestured them to sit in a long, leather couch that matched her chair.

“So, how did you hear about us?”

“We just seem to keep hearing things all over.” Isabelle said, with a smile, as she sank into the couch.

“It always seems to work that way.” Kristen said with a nod, though she didn’t seem to expect them to reply. “So you’ve heard about us all over.” she summarized, “Tell me a little bit about your situation. What made you start looking into marriage counseling?”

Isabelle immediately elbowed Alec  _ hard  _ in the side, starting to take off her jacket to cover the action. Alec was good at many things. Making up a cover on the fly was distinctly  _ not _ one of them. “We’ve been  _ married _ for three years, and now we’re thinking about kids.” She said smoothly.

Alec looked at her with wide eyes for a moment before he managed to somewhat pull himself together. “Ah. Yeah. Just. The right time.” He repeated Isabelle’s words. “We’ve been…” He swallowed and mostly managed to not choke on the words. “We’ve been  _ married _ long enough and now we’re...ready for kids?”

Isabelle glanced at her brother. He looked like he’d rather be pretty much anywhere in the world rather than on the couch with her, which was definitely understandable, but it wasn’t as if they could back out now. Alec looked deeply uncomfortable and possibly bordering on the edge of terrified, but considering the circumstances, she thought he was holding himself together quite admirably.

“And have you just started trying?” Kristen asked, kindly, pulling a notebook into her lap and beginning to write.

Alec looked to Isabelle with fury and desperation in his eyes, and it was all she could do not to crack up laughing.

Kristen picked up on the tension though. “It’s alright, we can come back to that.”

Alec’s sigh of “Oh thank goodness” wasn’t  _ quite _ quiet enough to not be heard in the small room of the clinic. 

Kristen raised an eyebrow at him and he gave her a fake smile in return.

“I know that this can be a difficult topic to tackle.” Kristen said, kindly, “I find that sometimes some tea can help? Just to calm everyone down. I can go make some, if you’d like.”

Isabelle took one glance at her floundering brother and then turned back to Kristen. “Tea would be great, thank you.”

“Of course!” Kristen said, rising from her chair and walking across the room to start an electric kettle.

Isabelle draped her jacket over the back of the couch and then moved closer to Alec, curling into his side. They had always supported each other with touch. She knew that she could play their physical intimacy as romantic intention, but it also let her be closer to her brother. For all her teasing, she knew that this situation was pretty much his worst nightmare.

Alec had spent so long pretending to be straight, and now, the last thing she ever wanted him to have to do was pick up that mask again. He had worked so hard to get to where he was, and the last thing Isabelle ever wanted to be a part of was a situation that forced Alec to step back towards the closet, even the tiniest bit.

But. They needed answers, and apparently that meant visiting a marriage counselor. It was another reason that Isabelle had insisted she be the one to come with him. If they had to pose as a straight couple, at least it was Isabelle with him, and not some random girl who might get the wrong idea. Or Clary, who wouldn’t get the wrong idea, but Isabelle couldn’t imagine her brother and Clary  _ ever _ being able to hold up a cover as a couple.

Isabelle took Alec’s hand in hers, and looked up at him. “We can do this.” She kept her voice soft, but it didn’t matter if Kristen heard. Isabelle was just going to play up her role as a supportive partner. She and Alec would know the true nature of that support, but it would be easy enough to fool someone who was expecting to see romance.

Alec turned her and smiled. “Yeah. Yes. We can do this.”

Isabelle leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, before glancing at Kristen, who was moving back to her seat as they waited for the kettle to boil. “Of course we can Smoochy-Poo.”

Alec’s look of horrified disgust at the unexpected pet name was something that Isabelle would cherish forever.

She hadn’t been prepared for the raised eyebrow that clearly meant ‘Game On’.

“Of course my little Noodle-Muffin!” Alec said, dropping his voice into some sickly saccharine tone that Isabelle had honestly never heard from him behind. “You’re the best _ wittle wifey _ a man could ever ask for.”

Isabelle turned to him with fire in her eyes. He gave her his widest smile.  It was on.

Alec gave her another glare and then shifted, sitting up on the couch. It seemed that the hint of competition was enough to get his mind off of their absurd cover story. He could focus on trying to embarrass his sister and he didn’t need to think about how awful it was to have to be playing as straight, let alone as his sister’s husband.

 

“Tell me,” Kristen started again, “How did you two meet?”

Isabelle tried to keep her face schooled into something earnest. “Well, it just feels like he’s always been a part of my life.”

“It’s hard to remember life without her.” Alec agreed. 

“Oh,” Kristen said, “You said you’ve been married for three years, is that right? How long have you two been together?”

Alec opened his mouth and then closed it as he scrambled for some way to answer. They really probably should have built more of their cover story before they’d gotten to the clinic.

“We met through our parents.” Izzy said. “Several years ago. We didn’t start ...dating until...I would say about three years later?”

Alec tried to hold in a snort at that. “I would say it was a lot closer to two.”

Izzy glared at him, and he simply shrugged in response.

“But you didn’t start dating right away?”

“I don’t think either of us were ready to be dating when we first met.” Isabelle said, diplomatically.

“Can you tell me what changed?” Kristen asked.

Isabelle and Alec glanced at each other.

“I realized that Isabelle is the most incredible woman I’ve ever met.” Alec said, honestly, “We had...the same...personal trainer. I’ll never forget the first time she managed to beat me when we were sparring. I knew I would never meet another girl as amazing as she is. She’s beautiful and intelligent and one of the strongest people I’ve ever had the privilege to know.”

Isabelle’s mouth dropped open a little bit, as Alec looked her in the eye. “I will never get over how lucky I am to know you. I love you so much, Izzy.”

This was not the game she thought they had been playing! It had been all about dumb names and being fake. It wasn’t supposed to be about how much they actually meant to each other. They were siblings, but they were also  _ friends _ . They were so different, but they leaned on each other for everything.

“Alec is the most supportive person I have ever known. Even if he didn’t agree, he was still there for me.” Isabelle turned to look at Kristen. “I...recently had got into some trouble with...drugs. And Alec...was always there for me, even before I was ready to admit there was a problem. He never stopped asking if I was okay, no matter how busy things got. When I’ve needed him, he has always been there for me.”

“Izzy…” Alec’s voice was rough and soft.

She turned to him with a weak smile. “You have always been there to help me.”

“You’re the only reason I managed to get this far.” Alec replied, “I was so close to losing myself so many times. You are one of the most inspirational people I have ever known.”

Isabelle shook her head. Her AA meetings had often centered around the importance of acknowledging the important people in life. She hadn’t quite expected it to be this emotionally fraught though. She had honestly expected to come in and camp up every horrifying married-couple dynamic she’d ever heard of. She had never thought that it would become honest feelings. She and Alec were having a very different conversation from what the counselor was talking about, but the intentions behind the words were no less real.

Isabelle cleared her throat, trying to think of a way to lighten the mood, without discounting the weight of what Alec had said. They didn’t have many chances to talk like this, and Isabelle wasn’t willing to dismiss Alec’s words. She didn’t want it to get too heavy, though. There weren't’ actually there for counseling. They were there to investigate.

“It sounds like you two have been through a lot with each other.” Kristen said, saving the Lightwoods from having to figure out a way to transition their conversation. “Is that part of what brought you here today?”

“Yes.” Alec said, nodding in the way that meant he really wanted to roll his eyes.

Izzy giggled. Alec had never really been one for the inanities of conversation. She put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s not always the best at talking about things.”

“Hey, I’m working on it!” Alec protested.

“Are you?” Isabelle asked.

“Yes!” Alec said with a huff.

Isabelle smirked at her brother. He was so easy to wind up sometimes.

Alec and Isabelle were in the middle a very silent conversation being spoken mostly with glares and eyebrows when the kettled ticked off. Kristen once again got up from her chair, and went about making tea for her two clients.

Once they were all settled, the questions started up again. “How has being married affected  your relationship?”

Isabelle could only laugh as Alec tried to stifle a groan. Isabelle put on her most winning smile. “The decision to get married is  _ definitely _ the best thing that Alec has ever done.”

“I hate you so much.” Alec grumbled, looking resolutely at the floor.

“Sure you do, Shnookums.” Izzy said, patting him on the leg.

“It sounds like there’s a story there…” Kristen said, clearly prompting them for more information.

“The wedding was...unorthodox,” Alec said, “But I would say that it worked out perfectly well in the end.”

“Unorthodox how?” Kristen pressed.

Alec turned to Isabelle, clearly having no idea how to field the question.

“The final guest list didn’t quite turn out to be what our parents were expecting,” Isabelle said, “It was definitely all for the best though.”

“You’ve both mentioned your parents a few times. How do they know each other?”

“They work together.” Alec said.

“I see.” Kristen said, writing more notes on her pad of paper. “We touched on it earlier, but it sounded like what brought you here was thoughts of starting a family.”

“Oh Raziel.” Alec muttered, under his breath.

“How do you two feel about family?” Kristen continued calmly.

Alec glanced at Isabelle. Even if they were just playing it for laughs, this was going to be a  _ very  _ long hour.

  
  
  
  


“Alright, well, thank you so much.” Kristen said, writing a few more lines in her notebook, before setting it to the side. “Shelly at the front desk can help you set up your next appointment. It was very nice to meet you Alec, Isabelle. I look forward to seeing you next time!”

Alec forced a smile. He reached for the nearly untouched teacup on the table and drained it quickly before standing up. Isabelle finished her tea with a much more dignified sip, before joining her brother. They both shook hands with Kristen one last time before heading out of the room.

They paused in the hallway, once they were out of earshot of the mostly-closed door that blocked Kristen’s office off.

“We didn’t get anything from that.” Isabelle said softly.

“I  _ do not _ want to do this again, Izzy.”

“We still need to know what’s happening.”

“Well, we know it’s not the people here, so maybe there’s something else. We can stake the place out.”

“You know we don’t have enough people for that, Alec.”

Alec frowned. “Fine. We’ll make another appointment. But as soon as I can free up a team it’s getting cancelled.”

“That’s fine with me.” Isabelle said, “I can’t say that pretending to be you  _ wittle wifey-poo _ is my idea of a good time.”

Alec flushed. “Shut up.”

“Where did you even hear that?”

“It seemed like the sort of thing...someone who wanted a wife might say.” Alec said.

Isabelle laughed. “No. No, my sweet brother, it most definitely does not. But the fact that you think it does is absolutely adorable.”

Alec gave her a flat look and then turned and headed towards the welcome desk. Shelley set them up with another appointment in a fortnight. They left the building with a reminder for the next meeting on a business card and nothing else at all to show for it.

The sun was going down as they left the building, and the wind coming up. Alec was not looking forward to having to write the report for this.

“Alec.” Isabelle’s voice was weak, but panicked, and her hand fell heavily on his arm. He turned to her immediately.

“Izzy?”

“Alec, something happened, I don’t...I don’t feel good. I don’t know…..” Her voice was getting slower and she was fighting to keep her eyes open. “Alec, maybe there was something…” Her voice trailed off and half a breath later she lost her battle for consciousness. Alec managed to catch her before she hit the ground, and pulled her close. He had no idea what was wrong, but he was starting to feel some kind of heaviness drag at the back of his mind as well. He knew he was running out of time.

Alec sank to the ground with Isabelle so he could free up a hand and reach for his phone. It took only a few seconds to dial Magnus, but even then he could feel the dizziness starting to cloud his mind.

“Alec?” Magnus’ voice was tinny through the phone speaker.

“Magnus.” The relief was stark in Alec’s voice. “Magnus, please help me. Something is wrong, Izzy won’t wake up, I don’t know what happened.”

“Alec, where are you?” Magnus’ words were sharp and clipped with panic.

Alec blinked hard trying to focus through the fog that was quickly overtaking him. “The...the clinic. Futures...Futures and Families clinic.” Alec could feel his hands going numb. Everything was starting to slip; falling further and further away. Distantly he could hear that Magnus was still trying to talk to him, but Alec wasn’t sure what was being said.

The phone slipped from Alec’s hand as he fell to the ground and joined his sister in slumber.

  
  
  
  
  


Isabelle awoke slowly, letting herself linger on the edges of sleep, enjoying the sated peace of a good night’s rest.  She blinked her eyes open, trying to remember when she’d fallen asleep. Her half-awake rememberings were short-circuited as soon as she realized where she was; on a bed in one of the guest room in Magnus’ loft.

She moved slowly as she got out of bed. She didn’t feel injured - she felt great, actually. Refreshed and better rested than she had been in recent memory. So often waking from sleep had been like trudging through a swamp, especially after everything with Valentine. Waking up in Magnus’ bed had been like stepping through a waterfall; refreshing and clean.

Except for the part where she had no idea how she’d gotten to Magnus’ loft, and the last thing she remembered was… the clinic.

_ The clinic where people had been missing time! _

 

She rushed out of the room; she needed to find Alec.

 

Instead, she found Magnus, who was pacing the floor of the living room, looking unusually rumpled. “Magnus?”

“Isabelle! You’re awake!”

“How long was I asleep?” She asked, looking outside. The sun was high; if she had to guess she’d say it was sometime in the afternoon.

“You’ve been out for about fifteen hours.” Magnus said, turning to sit down. He sank into the chair with a sigh. “Alexander is still asleep.”

Izzy frowned. “What?”

“He called me, from outside the clinic. He told me something was wrong, and then I’m fairly certain he passed out. By the time I found you both, you were asleep on the ground.”

“I don’t remember that.” Isabelle admitted, “The last thing I remember was...talking to the receptionist and booking another appointment.”

“Yes.” Magnus said, dryly, “About that. Why exactly were you and your  _ brother _ attending a meeting with a marriage counselor?”

“We were investigating!” Isabelle said, “We kept getting reports of people returning from the clinic and missing chunks of time.”

“Well then. It seems to me that you’ve at least solved that part of the mystery.”

“I still don’t know what happened though. You said we’ve been asleep?”

“Perfectly healthy, normal sleep.” Magnus nodded, “Except for the part where nothing at all can wake you up.”

Izzy frowned. She knew that Magnus would have tried everything in his considerable power to break them free of whatever had put them to sleep. “Do you know what caused it?”

Magnus sighed. “Good intentions gone awry, as far as I can tell.”

“What?”

Magnus looked up at Isabelle. “I would guess that there is some kind of catalyst. When you were at the clinic, was there anything they gave you? Anything that stood out? It could be a smell, or the soap in the bathrooms, or complimentary mints.”

“There was tea.” Isabelle said, “She said that...it was good for calming people down, if they were nervous or having a hard time talking about things.”

“That would do it.” Magnus said, “My guess is that the person who put together the tea has some latent seelie blood. When she went about making this tea, she focused so much on trying to make people feel better, she accidentally awakened whatever magic she has access to. The fact that she’s completely untrained, it would be shaped only be intention.” He explained, “It would seem that she wanted to the people who came to her office to healthy and well-rested.”

“So, the people experiencing missing time where simply asleep because of this potion.” Izzy said.

“That would be my best guess for the understanding. There was no trace of malevolent magic anywhere. Just a restorative sleep spell created with such a will that there is very little that can be done to circumvent it.”

Isabelle paused. “You said Alec is still asleep?”

“Yes.” Magnus confirmed, “If the spell is built to put someone to sleep until they’re well-rested, I have a feeling he might stay asleep for quite a bit longer.” He clapped his hands once and stood from the chair, brushing his trousers off. “But! Seeing as how you are no longer asleep, I will be leaving you here to watch him.”

“What?”

“I didn’t want to leave the two of you alone, but now that you’re awake, it would seem I have some business to take care of at a certain ‘Futures and Families Clinic.’”

“Magnus, what? We still don’t know-”

“My dear Isabelle,” Magnus cut her off, “I know that it may seem like many questions have not been answered, but I have had nothing but time to research for the past several hours. There is no ill-intent here, only magic that is untrained. As such, it is much more my responsibility than a matter for Shadowhunters. Whoever made this isn’t hurting anyone, but they need training before they accidentally do cause harm.” He placed his hand on Izzy’s shoulder, “Finding and helping those who need it is my job.”

Izzy frowned at him. “I know you can take care of yourself, but that doesn’t mean I like the idea of you going after whoever this is alone. You said you couldn’t break the spell!”

“I could have, if I’d needed to.” Magnus said, gently, “There was no easy way to get you out without harming you, and the spell wasn’t doing any damage, so it seemed best to let it run its course.” He stepped away from her, “I’ll be back before Alexander wakes up.”

With that, he opened a portal, and left Isabelle alone in the loft.

 

  
  
Magnus was back long before Alec woke up. Barely an hour had passed before a portal opened back up in the middle of the living room and Magnus strolled back through.

Once he’d known what he was looking for, it had been easy to spot the uncontrolled magic coming from the clinic. He’d had a short chat with Kristen, and after a few quick calls, he’d managed to set her up with a part-time apprenticeship with Catarina. He had a feeling the two would be a good match for each other, after all, Kristen had only gotten herself into trouble because she’d wanted to help people.

Isabelle had offered to cook them dinner, but Magnus had simply conjured something for them both, out of self-defence.

The night had grown long and gotten late, and Alec had still been asleep. Isabelle had finally left for the institute, knowing that someone would need to check in at some point before a search party got sent out.

 

It was nearly evening the next day when Alec finally stirred. He wandered out of the bedroom looking confused, but also more well-rested than Magnus could remember in recent history.

“I love you,” Magnus said, before he kissed Alec on the cheek and handed him a mug of coffee. “But you have  _ got _ to get more sleep.”

Alec took the coffee automatically, looking around the loft in confusion. “I love you too, but what happened? I remember...the clinic?” Alec turned to Magnus with wide eyes, “The missing time!”

Magnus just grinned. “It’s been all taken care of and Isabelle said she’d write the report.”

“Thank the angel.” Alec said, feeling relief rush through him with the knowledge he didn’t have to write up the paperwork for this mission.

“It was that bad?” Magnus asked, stepping into Alec’s space and putting his hand on the back of Alec’s neck.”

Alec made a sour face. “I had to pretend I had a wife. She’s my sister, and I had to pretend she was my wife!”

Magnus laughed. “That sounds terrible, Alexander.”

“It was!” Alec said.

“Would it help if I kissed it better?” Magnus teased.

“Maybe it would.” Alec said.

“I guess we’ll have to try that then.” Magnus said, gently taking the coffee mug from Alec’s hands and setting it on a nearby counter.

Alec smiled as he moved closer and pulled Magnus in for a kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you want, [say hi on tumblr!](https://taupefox59.tumblr.com)


End file.
